How to Make Paper Puppets

With this paper craft, all the world's a stage -- even a shoe box! Using colorful craft foam and glue, you can transform a shoe box into a puppet theater in the blink of an eye. Ladies and gentlemen, on with the show!

What You'll Need:

13x9-inch shoe box

Colored card stock

Newspaper

12 x18-inch piece craft foam

Craft foam scraps

Ruler

Pencil

Craft knife

Scissors

Craft glue

How to Make a Shoe Box Theater:

Step 1: Remove the lid from the shoe box. On the bottom of the box, measure and mark a rectangular opening one inch in from all edges.

Help kids use the craft knife to cut along the top line and both side lines only. Score the bottom line with the craft knife, and fold the rectangle to the inside of the box for the stage floor.

Step 2: Cut a piece of card stock to cover the stage floor. Glue it on top of the floor.

Step 3: To make the complete stage front pattern, fold a piece of newspaper in half and then in half the other direction. Align the edges of the stage front pattern with the folded edges of the newspaper.

Trace around the pattern; cut out. Unfold the newspaper, and there's the full stage front pattern. Trace around this pattern onto a piece of craft foam; cut out, cutting out the center as well.

Step 4: Cut out 6 circles and 6 triangles from scraps of craft foam; glue around the stage front border. Center and glue the border around the opening in the shoe box. Let dry.

In the next section your kids will meet a wacky big mouth puppet that has a lot to say.